The Politics of Pregnancy: How Sexual Behavior Relates to Abortion Opinion

• In Event: 261 - Section on Political Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 04. Politics of Family, Gender, Sexuality

Abstract

Public opinion on abortion in the United States has long been studied by social scientists, yet this topic is not yet fully understood. Debates over which people support or oppose legal abortion, and why, have been prominent both in public discourse and among researchers in a variety of disciplines. While opinions about sex are clearly linked to opinions about abortion, scholars have yet to explore the relationship between an individual’s sexual behavior and his or her abortion opinion. Given longstanding, high rates of unintended pregnancy, and the risks and costs associated with child rearing, a consideration of one’s likeliness of facing an unplanned pregnancy seems undoubtedly warranted. This study helps to fill this gap in the literature by examining how one’s number of recent sexual partners impacts one’s support for legal abortion. Analyzing data from the 1992 NHSLS and 22 years of the GSS, I show that sexual behavior is a significant and robust determinant of abortion opinion, especially among heterosexual women. This finding suggests that, at least among those at risk of experiencing an unintended pregnancy, material interests and personal vulnerability may be more important than ideology in shaping opinions on abortion legality.

Author

• Jennifer Elizabeth Marie Hill, Stanford University